Stour Valley Vineyard Church has been presented with a Working Together Award and been handed a cheque for £3,500 by Suffolk Community Foundation for achieving outstanding outcomes through its collaboration and partnerships in Sudbury.

Working with strategic partners such as social services, CAB, housing trusts, local churches and other voluntary organisations, each year it gives out hundreds of emergency food bags to local families and individuals in crisis.

Storehouse Foodbank began in 2007 after the church received a phone call from youth social services asking for help with a young homeless person sleeping rough. Storehouse usage was up 62% more in 2015 than in the previous year.

Through a team of volunteers and weekly drop-ins, it also provides a listening ear and a bridge to receiving further help. One of those other ways is with CAP Money, a free three-week course, to help people manage their finances without fear. It also has plans to expand its services.

Councillor Sarah Stamp, Suffolk County Councillor’s Cabinet Member for Communities, along with Andrea Pittock, Suffolk Community Foundation’s Grants Manager, presented the cheque to Senior Pastor Andrew Stewart-Darling and Storehouse Team Leader Rita Pennington at their church offices at the Christopher Centre in Gainsborough Street, Sudbury.

Councillor Stamp said, “I have visited and been privileged to present some fantastic awards to community groups across Suffolk who have shown exceptional collaborative working.”

Senior Pastor, Andrew Stewart-Darling says, “We are incredibly humbled and honoured to receive this recognition. Through a dedicated team of volunteers from the church, support from ‘business angels’ and local groups, we’re able to see many families in crisis walk out two inches taller from when we first meet them. This is reward in itself.

“The Working Together Award is timely because Storehouse Foodbank needs continual support with its overheads and running costs. But it needs more than food, so if anyone is able to financially support our work in the community, we’d really love to hear from them. Our community continues to be hugely generous with food donations, but the costs for the food bank’s sustainability equally needs supporting. Every £10 really does help.

“But we also now have another urgent need. We desperately require new premises for food storage as well as office space, if possible. We have been hugely grateful to a local business for our current warehouse space, but, sadly, that will no longer be available to us very soon. So we’d love to hear from another local business who might be able to partner with us. I cannot stress enough the importance of the food bank to our town and surrounding areas at this time, so we hoping that a business will be able to help us quickly. Meanwhile, thank you Sudbury. You are amazing!”

Storehouse Foodbank is a compassion programme of Stour Valley Vineyard Church with two regular weekly drop in’s at the Christopher Centre. Users of the foodbank are referred through partner agencies to ensure it serves those with the greatest needs. To know more, please contact the Storehouse team on: 07973 710905 or email them today.

To give a one-off gift or set up a regular monthly gift for Storehouse, please go to our giving page. Thank you.